After a weekend in New York City, Webster University chess team members returned to St. Louis with some impressive hardware: their second consecutive President’s Cup, known as the “Final Four of College Chess.”

To take home the 2014 national title, the chess Gorloks completed a weekend sweep by defeating Texas Tech University in the third and final round at the New York Athletic Club.

‘Complete Team Effort’

To claim the national championship, the Webster University chess team capped an undefeated 9-0 run with a 3-0 sweep at the President’s Cup, the “Final Four of Collegiate Chess.”

“This Final Four victory was a complete team effort by the students,” said head coach Susan Polgar, who herself has now coached four consecutive Final Four victories.

Webster University chess team discuss strategy in the weeks leading up to the President’s Cup. Coach Susan Polgar emphasizes physical fitness as well as studying strategy.

“They worked very hard since January, and made a lot of personal sacrifices, to be ready physically, mentally and chess-wise, to defend their National Championship title and make Webster proud. No coach can be prouder of their players than me.”

To get there, they went undefeated (9-0) on the season. After going 6-0 to win the 2013 PanAm InterCollegiate Chess Championship by a full point — thus qualifying for this year’s Final Four — the team then swept Texas Tech, University of Maryland Baltimore County, and University of Illinois 3-0 to win its back-to-back championship by a record-tying 2.5 point margin.

Robson said in the weeks leading up to the Final Four, he and his teammates spent up to five hours a day twice a week studying positions on a large projection screen. He and his team members were asked to find the best move in a given position or to play the game out among themselves.

Congratulations to the Webster University chess team, back-to-back national champions!

Back-to-back! The Webster University chess team sports championship t-shirts shortly after their second consecutive President’s Cup championship.